"You think she's just lying there 'cause she got so mad she passed out?"

"What’s there to be mad about? Everyone’s saying Dr. Morgan and Miss Summers working together is just part of the job. If she gets angry over that, that's just petty!"

"Didn't her mother-in-law say it already? They've been married for years, and she hasn’t had a single sign of pregnancy. A hen that won’t lay eggs—what right does she have to throw a tantrum at her husband?"

...

The chatter went on nonstop. Sophia Rivers lay there in the snow, her mind spinning.

She hadn’t expected that one fall to bring back a flood of memories—she was just the cannon-fodder ex-wife of the male lead in a novel.

Lucas Morgan, the male lead, was the youngest surgeon in the Northwest Army’s hospital. Handsome, brilliant, with a promising future—the only downside was that he was from a rural family and had a mother, Margaret Morgan, who was both sharp-tongued and impossible to deal with.

Sophia had been married to Lucas for two years, but still hadn’t managed to conceive.

Margaret couldn’t stand it. She was constantly berating Sophia, forcing her to drink all kinds of bizarre fertility concoctions—things like dried placenta, black charm water, and “blessed” earth from temples.

She’d even set up a private shrine at home, placing a statue of the fertility goddess there and making Sophia kneel before it all night.

Despite all of this suffering, Sophia had endured it willingly. She used to think she had it all. Sure, her mother-in-law was tough to deal with, but Lucas Morgan was good to her. He never blamed her for not having kids and even stood up for her in front of Margaret Morgan.

With a husband like that, what else could she ask for?

So, Sophia Rivers endured everything. She tried even harder to have a child for the Morgan family. She even decided to leave her hometown and come to the military hospital, thinking it would give her more chances to be around Lucas. If they spent more time together and didn’t live apart, she was sure she’d get pregnant.

Sophia could never have imagined, after days on a grueling train ride, that the first thing she'd see at the hospital entrance would be her husband chatting away with another woman.

The two of them looked so at ease, smiling and laughing, like they belonged together. Even the usually sharp-tongued Margaret Morgan was all smiles, her face lighting up with deep wrinkles as she held the woman’s hand and said, “If only you could be my daughter-in-law! A daughter-in-law like you would be such a blessing for our Morgan family!”

The woman pretended to pull her hand away shyly, but her eyes were locked on Lucas, full of unmistakable affection.

That scene—it looked just like a happy family. It left Sophia stunned, frozen. When she finally snapped out of it, she completely broke down. Tears streaming, she ran over, trying to shove the woman away.

But Lucas was quicker. He pushed Sophia aside without hesitation. "You actually pushed me? You pushed me for *her*? Lucas Morgan, I’m your wife!"

Lucas had only reacted instinctively earlier. He was just about to explain when Margaret Morgan jumped in:

"You shameless woman! Our Morgan family must’ve been cursed to have married you! A useless hen who can’t even lay eggs, and now you’re out here embarrassing yourself? Get back inside, now!"

They were standing right at the entrance of the residential compound, with people constantly walking by. Sophia Rivers felt her biggest wound being exposed for all to see—her inability to have children. Hearing Margaret Morgan blurt it out like that, in public, was utterly humiliating.

It was too much to take all at once. Sophia completely broke down. In her despair, she turned to run toward the river, intending to end it all.

However, as soon as she spun around, she tripped over a stone on the ground and fell hard onto the snowy ground.

The moment she hit the snow, something strange dawned on Sophia—she wasn’t just Sophia Rivers; she was a throwaway character in some novel.

In the original story, this was the point where she actually jumped into the river and ended her life.

Not long after her death, that woman—the female lead, Sabrina Summers—married Lucas Morgan.

And not only did Sabrina quickly get pregnant and provide the Morgan family with a child, but her career soared. She became the kind of perfect daughter-in-law everyone in the community admired.

Even Margaret Morgan, who was a nightmare of a mother-in-law, endlessly praised Sabrina while trampling Sophia’s name into the dirt as though she had never been worth anything.

Seeing how the story unfolded in her mind, Sophia was utterly stunned.There’s no way that person in the book could be her!

No chance she’d ever go through hell just to have a kid for a man, let alone lose her life over some petty jealousy because of him!

Yeah, she did marry Lucas Morgan, but everything after the wedding was like a blur in her mind, as if some weird force was dragging her into this ridiculous, toxic storyline.

And toxic? Oh, it couldn’t get more toxic than this.

The Morgan family and those two protagonists were just bad luck all around!

Sophia Rivers couldn’t figure out why everything suddenly clicked in her head, but one thing was clear—there was no way she’d go back to living that kind of life. She was capable, skilled, perfectly able to support herself. So what if she couldn’t have kids? Why should that trap her forever?

Life had been fine before. But marrying Lucas? That turned her entire world upside down, forcing her into misery, forcing her to stick to some stupid plot. If that wasn’t proof enough that Lucas was nothing but bad news, she didn’t know what was.

Divorce. Divorce was the only way.

Having made up her mind, Sophia felt an incredible sense of relief.

She stood up from the snow, her voice calm and steady as she said, “Lucas Morgan, let’s get a divorce.”

The moment those words left her mouth, everyone froze in shock.

They never expected the frantic, emotional Sophia from just moments ago to suddenly collect herself, and even less so for her to calmly announce she wanted a divorce! This day and age, how could a woman ask for a divorce herself?

Especially when Lucas Morgan was a government-employed doctor with a bright future. And Sophia Rivers? She was nothing but a useless woman who couldn’t even have children!

The idea of her daring to mention divorce? If they really split, who else would want someone like her?

Lucas looked completely stunned. “Sophia, stop talking nonsense. I didn’t mean it earlier, it wasn’t intentional. Sabrina and I were just discussing work. Don’t make a fuss about this!”

His tone was almost like coaxing a little kid, as if Sophia was simply acting out over nothing.

On the side, Margaret Morgan exploded.

She’d always thought Sophia was full of schemes, and now she had the nerve to use divorce as a threat!

“Fine, leave if you want! Sophia, don’t come crying back later when you regret it! You—”

Before Margaret could continue, Sophia interrupted directly, “I won’t regret it. Since we’re at your workplace, let’s just handle the divorce paperwork here and now.”

Lucas’s face turned dark immediately, not expecting Sophia to actually mean it.

“Sophia, what is this? Did you forget how deep our feelings are for each other?”

Sophia let out a cold laugh. Deep feelings? What a joke! Right, Lucas Morgan didn’t really scold her about not having kids. Sometimes when Margaret Morgan was criticizing her, he’d even say a few words to defend her. But that was about it.

All those bitter remedies—she swallowed them herself, one by one. Even when Margaret hit her, all Lucas would do was tell her to endure it. Then at night, he’d lecture her, insisting she apologize to his mom.

What kind of "good" was that supposed to be? It was all just for show!

“There’s no point talking about it anymore. I want a divorce. I can’t have kids, and I don’t want to hold up the Morgan family’s legacy.”

“Then divorce her! Lucas, get it done fast! Once you’re divorced, I can finally hold a big, healthy grandson!” Margaret Morgan was absolutely thrilled.

She’d been wanting to kick Sophia Rivers out for ages. With her flashy looks but barren stomach, what right did this woman have to marry into the Morgan family?

Lucas was a doctor! He had such a promising future!

Only someone like Sabrina Summers—a capable, city-born woman with a strong family background—was good enough for her son!

Margaret was so excited she didn’t even notice the icy expression in Lucas’s eyes.

Because the one who couldn’t have kids… wasn’t Sophia. It was him.